Related Stories

Everyone is fond of making a New Year's Resolution around this time of year—even in business. We start each New Year with high hopes and big plans. But when you look back at the last year, you have to ask, “What did you really do to help make your organization's sales performance improve?” If it's little or nothing, well, unfortunately, you're not alone.

The other day, while reading CSO Insights' 16th annual report titled "Sales Performance Optimization: 2010 Key Trends Analysis," I got a great look into what's really going on inside sales organizations all across the country. Not surprisingly, many of them seem to be having trouble moving the sales needle as effectively as they need to and were facing some very daunting challenges.

It's become a sad cliché to say that sales teams are challenged to "deliver more with less" while still being expected to hit their ever-increasing annual goals. In the past year, despite many companies ranking “Improving Sales Performance” as a top priority, a growing number of companies under-delivered the key tools that would help improve sales performance. What struck me is that many companies seem to be using a very contradictory strategy for improving performance and, unfortunately, the net result is that the entire organization may be at risk.

Here are a few tidbits:

Selling cycles have gotten longer and require more calls to close deals – It's not a surprise to anyone that budgets are now being held much closer than ever these days. With spending on such a short leash, it's going to take more effort to get a buyer to make a decision.

Lead generation isn't keeping pace with sales – A hefty 67% of the companies reported that they cut or frozen lead-gen spending – never a good way to grow sales.

Sales training investments were curtailed – Here's the old "work with what you have" approach in action.

The most surprising and somewhat ironic point was the lack of investment these companies had made in their sales infrastructure over the past year. For example:

Needed Sales Knowledge Management improvements were under-delivered – Despite making "improving their SKM" as the #2 sales effectiveness priority, less than 1 in 10 firms delivered any type of tool. Many simply decided to simply move it out to a 'next year's initiative,' with the resulting effect clearly contradicting their intent.

Lack of new sales forecasting technology enhancements or implementations - Only 12% of the firms that promised new technologies for helping their sales managers optimize pipeline/forecast management and rep coaching actually delivered it. Again, it's a "work with what you have" approach.

So, is there any good news?

CSO Insight did have some positive suggestions for helping companies get more out if their sales efforts without massive financial outlays or complicated processes.

One area that is particularly interesting is their discussion around a Sales Relationship/Process Matrix. Simply put, to improve effectiveness companies need to take a truly objective look at the way they sell and how they manage their customer relationships. Then, they need to strategically change the way they sell to match the reality. On the surface, this may seem vague and sound like something that companies routinely use as a PowerPoint buzzword, but it's just the thing that will truly make a difference. With a clear understanding about the way yourcustomer needs to be approached, you not only enhance your sales process – you ultimately effect a significant change to your sales results.

Ok, so now what? Start by getting the most out information you already have, starting with your CRM system.

Most companies have some sort of customer relationship management system, whether it's an enterprise-level CRM system, boxed software such as ACT! or even just a basic spreadsheet they use to manage their sales data. Today's modern CRM systems are able to do much more than simply keep a record of your customers' titles, addresses, and recent contact details. They give you valuable reports with tremendous insight into your sales flow—without being overly complicated. CRM systems such as Landslide CRM have gone even further with powerful, yet easy-to-use reporting and analysis tools that allow you to look at the entire sales process to better understand your customer's needs. You can now deliver truly accurate, fact-based sales forecasts, get objective management insight and more. Many modern CRM systems are easy to use with many professional features. They're web-based for easy, secure access, deployment and maintenance within any size organization. They give powerful results and are relatively inexpensive to employ.

Once you develop a 'sales checklist' that reflects your sales process you're on your way to maximizing your CRM system. You're now able to get the information you need to manage and fine tune your sales process based on actual experience. Plus, your CRM system can enhance the process by delivering the appropriate resources, such as whitepapers, product brochures, presentations and more at each stage to help each member of your sales team to consistently move their customers toward the close.

In the end, maximizing your CRM system will allow you to quickly improve your sales effectiveness. You'll actually be able to "do more with less" so that next year, your New Year's Resolutions can be a bit more pleasant.

About Kary Zate

Kary is a Marketing Communications Manager at LandslideCRM and a contributor to LandslideCRM's Thought Leadership Program. Kary brings to Landslide a wide range of experience with email marketing, online marketing, and web marketing for major consumer and B2B companies.